The University Press, also commonly referred to as the UP, is the student-run magazine of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The magazine is published semimonthly during the fall and spring semesters. The current editor-in-chief is Zachary Weinberger. Dan Sweeney served as adviser to the magazine until the end of Spring 2014. Former adviser Michael Koretzky continues to advise the paper on a volunteer basis.
History
The UP in its current form was established in 1998 after being shut down for a period of nine months. It restarted up as a broadsheet but since has changed its format to a tabloid or magazine sized paper. The University Press and FAU's Student Government have clashed a number of times in recent years. In 2004, the Student Government tried to lock the paper's staff out of their offices, cut their funding, and fire their adviser. This resulted from claims that UP staff were not conducting their required office hours. The UP countered that the Student Government was instead retaliating following a story that the Student Government's leaders gave themselves a 25%, 6-month retroactive pay raise without public comment. The situation was resolved after the University Press' adviser received a letter of reprimand from the Student Government. The UP redesigned its online product and added daily news, blogs, videos from and music from in 2007. The redesigned their online package again in 2010. In May 2010, longtime adviser Michael Koretzky was let go after 12 years because of a reorganization of the university's student media. However, he continues to advise the paper on a volunteer basis.
Editor selection
The UP's editor selection was modeled after the University of Florida's student-run newspaper. The student body president, outgoing Editor-in-Chief, a professional journalist, a faculty member and the University Press' adviser sit on a panel to determine the next semester's Editor. The five judges interview candidates during an open meeting. Once the judges are finished interviewing the candidates, the audience is allowed to ask questions. At the end of the process the judges openly cast their votes. In Fall 2010, Florida Atlantic University's Department of Student Affairs declared the editor selection process "emotional terrorism" and implemented a new selection process. While similar to the old selection, student employees at the UP have complained that the new process is "neutered." As a result, the official Spring 2011 editor selection was augmented with a "fake" editor selection held in the old style.
